Donald Healey, The Man Behind The Cars

Donald Mitchell Healey, son of a Cornish shopkeeper, was born in Perranporth, Cornwall, in 1898. From an early age he displayed a great deal of potential and understanding for mechanical subjects

Upon leaving school, Donald Healey began an apprenticeship at Sopwith, an aircraft manufacturer, where he learned how to use machine tools.

After the outbreak of the First World War, he served in the Royal Flying Corps as a pilot until 1916, when he was injured during an air crash.

Being forced out of the Ryal Flying Corps as an invalid, Donald Healey returned to his home in Cornwall where he took up a correspondence course in automotive engineering.

In 1921, Donald Healey married Ivy Maud James and they had three sons, Geoffrey, Brian and John.

Donald Healey the Garage Owner

Sponsored by his father, Donald Healey opened a garage in his home town where he repaired and serviced cars, as well as ran a taxi service. The business prospered, and in 1922, he had accumulated sufficient funds to buy a competition car. This marked the beginning of his involvement in motorsport and this led him to meet other like–minded people and form relationships that would carve out the direction of the rest of his life.

Following the outbreak of the second World War, Donald Healey’s abilities as an engineer were recognised by the Ministry of Supply, who asked him to develop a carburettor for an aircraft engine. Around this time he also worked with Humber with the developmnent of armoured vehicles, and which led him to meet Achille Sampietro, a specilaist vehicle chassis designer and producer.

The Donald Healey Motor Company Was Born

In 1945, Donald Healey and Achille Sampietro set up business together under the name of Donald Healey Motor Company, setting up premises in the form of an old RAF hangar at Warwick. In 1946, the first Healey car appeared, powered by a 2.5–litre Riley engine.

In 1947 and 1948, Donald Healey took his car to the Alpine Rallies where he secured class wins at both events. His cars scored other successes too, as did Healey himself, both gaining a high level of respect in the world of motorsport.

It was the year of 1952, and as a reult of the British Motor Show, that Donald Healey’s name was launched to international fame, as this was the event at which he unveiled to the world the car that was to become a motoring icon. The Austin–Healey 100.

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Thursday, 27-Jan-2011

Donald Healey, The Man Behind The Cars